latest staging tips

The best staging tip I've heard lately is to lose the brass! Nothing seems to say "dated" more to a buyer these days than an overabundance of shiny brass cabinet knobs and light plate covers. Visit my house if you want to see an example of what I'm talking about! When you can't afford to replace your lovely 80s oak kitchen cabinets, try splurging on some new hardware for the cabinets and see if it doesn't make a noticeable difference in the appeal of your kitchen!

FSBO -- for sale by owner

If you are hunting for a home and working with a buyer's agent (which is a great idea!), your agent can show your for sale by owner homes (FSBO). Many sellers who are not listing with an agent are happy to allow a Realtor to show their home and work with a buyer represented by an agent. In fact, working with a buyer's agent helps them know that they are dealing with a qualified buyer and handle the myriad of paperwork and transaction details that Realtors manage on a day-to-day basis.

If you are a FSBO seller, be sure that buyer's agents are welcome at your door. They are the most likely source of buyers for you and can help ensure that the transaction runs smoothly. A good Realtor is worth every penny of the commission you'll pay them!

Red River Gorge Calendar

My friend John Snell, a very talented Kentucky photographer, just sent me the link for his 2008 Red River Gorge Calendar. Following the success of his book published last year called, “Red River Gorge, The Eloquent Landscape”, the new calendar promises to be a visual treat. The link to his calendar is http://www.johnsnellphoto.com. Hope you enjoy it!

Enjoying Central Kentucky - Red River Gorge

For the outdoor enthusiast thinking about relocating to Lexington or new to the area, Central Kentucky has many treasures within an hour's drive of Lexington. One of my favorite destinations is the Red River Gorge. Both the experienced and novice hiker can find trail after trail to enjoy in the Red River Gorge.

If you're looking for a quick easy day hike, try one of our family favorites: head to Natural Bridge State Park mid-morning. Park at the sky lift and take this up to the top (I recommend purchasing the round trip ticket and hold on to that ticket). The sky lift takes you to the top of the Bridge and from there you can find a number of trails. We typically traverse the bridge and take the trail that leads down to Hemlock Lodge for lunch. After lunch we take the Old Trail back up the mountain to the bridge (this will get your heart rate up) where we squeeze through Fat Man's Misery and end up back on top of the trail and return to parking via the Sky Lift. There's another short easy trail from the top of the bridge that gives you a great view looking back at the bridge for the fall visual effect.

Another easy but very rewarding trail is Sky Bridge. This super trail is mostly paved and provides very accessible access to Sky Bridge. If you're hiking with dogs or small children hold tight to them as you cross over the bridge (my dad confessed recently that he won't go over the bridge because he's scared of heights!). The top of the bridge affords a great view of the area and the underside provides a fascinating look at this natural wonder. Both Sky Bridge and the Natural Bridge trails are about the best introduction you can give yourself if you are new to the area. It's also fairly easy to do both of these spots in the same day as the Sky Bridge trail is no more than a mile.

A couple of great websites for more information about the Red River Gorge are www.RedRiverGorge.org and www.RedRiverGorge.com. The first site has a number of the trails listed there. If you can find it, I've also long relied on a book called Kentucky's Land of Arches.

My children also suggested I mention that one should definitely stop at the Dairy Queen in Stanton for a blizzard on the way home. After all, you'll burn a lot of calories hiking and you'll need a treat!

Real Estate is local!

Working with a lot of relocating clients, I am frequently asked "how's your real estate market in Lexington?" Of course, if every time we open the newspaper or log onto msn.com we get the bad, scary housing market news...you know, the bubble..., I don't blame people for asking.

I had the pleasure this morning to attend a speech by Dr. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, for our local board of Realtors. What a insightful talk! Dr. Yun gave a great reminder that when you look at market trends you have to look locally. Comparing what's happening in the California and Florida market trends is like looking at Miami's weather to figure out what's happening in Lexington. Data for our local market, shows there isn't a bubble. The number of transactions in our local market is down, but that fact has little impact on the consumer (only on the people who make an income off the transactions like real estate agents, lenders, closing attorneys...you get the picture). For the consumer, home values are still strong and real estate remains a great investment for almost every buyer.

Dr. Yun presented a lot of great data on our Lexington real estate market vs. national trends and some specific markets like Washington D.C. As soon as his powerpoint presentation is available I'll create a link to it for you.

Seasonal curb appeal

I purchased the Mathews Family Halloween pumpkins today with my kids and it reminded me to post about some great staging advice as we approach the Fall season. If your house is on the market, limit the amount of seasonal decor you have outside. For October and November, a couple of welcoming pots of mums on the front porch are always appropriate! I always use the rule of thumb that if I'm asking myself if something is "too much", it probably is. Put out your jack'o'lanterns but remember to clean them up as they start to rot and keep that front porch swept, the yard raked, and the gutters cleaned out! Keep your home looking as easy to maintain as possible by staying on top of those season chores!

Shorter Commute Times

I recently read an article that verified what I've has always seemed like plain old common sense to me. Buyers are willing to pay more for houses that reduce their commute time to work. Here's the link to the article which appeared in Realty Times:

http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20070810_affordnear.htm




I interpret this as a great reason in Lexington to look at those kitschy 1950s neighborhoods like Pine Meadows, Southland and Gardenside as solid investments -- affordable, well-built homes that are just minutes from UK & Downtown. In addition, these neighborhoods offer the charm of mature trees, nearby schools, and in most of these homes a larger lot than you'll find in most newer neighborhoods which allows room for some lovely additions I've run across in recent years.


For example check out this home at 828 Summerville in Pine Meadows is priced at $139,000, offers gorgeous hardwood floors and has 1650 square feet of very usable living space. A great price for reduced commute times if you work anywhere near UK, downtown or St. Joe's or Central Baptist Hospital.




As we all become more and more sensitive to the time we spend behind the wheel and the pollution we're creating, these neighborhoods are poised to become the next Chevy Chase, Hollywood, Kenwick and Tahoma, Terrace: affordable, convenient and just a little more character than your average new neighborhood! For the first time home buyer or investor, take a look at what these wonderful neighborhoods have to offer.

new scam targeting new mortgagees

I just learned about a new scam from a Realtor friend in Radcliffe, Kentucky and I feel compelled to spread the word. A recent past client of hers received a notice saying that their mortgage had been sold to XYZ company and that they would need to start making their monthly mortgage payment to XYZ company at a new address. The new home owners complied and two months later received notice from their original loan holder that they were two months behind on their mortgage payments! The authorities are investigating but the homeowners are out those two months payments and now have a blemish on their credit history. XYZ Company doesn't exist and they'd been scammed!

Apparently, these con artists are using notices of newly recorded liens and targeting new home buyers. My advice is, if you have purchased your home in the past two years and receive a letter saying that your loan has been sold, please take the time to verify its authenticity. It is common that new loans are sold but please be certain that it is legitimate!

What is home staging...

If you spend enough evening time with my husband flipping the TV channels, you eventually get to watch HGTV! I absolutely hate the Canadian shows where people can't sell their houses but I do enjoy getting sucked into the shows about home staging.

Staging has become a true buzz word in the real estate trade and it is an important one. Preparing a home for a faster sale and a greater return on your investment meets everybody's goals! In most people's minds staging is simply done by decluttering and this is absolutely the first step (see my earlier posts on this topic) but when staging you also want to create in people's minds ideal ways the existing spaces can be used. You want to help potential buyers see your space as their space and quite simply, want them to want to "live your life!"

Live Where You Work

If you are a UK employee and thinking of buying a home close to campus, be sure and check out the "Live where You Work" Program funded by UK and the city. This forgivable loan program allows you to borrow up to 5% of the purchase price of your home and if you live in the house for five or more years, you don't have to pay the loan back. And of course, you save lots in gas by cutting down on your commute time! What a deal!

The link for the program is: http://www.uky.edu/HR/benefits/EAHP/welcome.html

You'll find a property tool for the program to see if it is in the area and you can look a property up by the address as well to determine if it qualifies.

I have this link on my website as well but I think it's a great thing to know and a real perk of being a UK employee.

Green Lawns!

Although I wrote about "green" homes in my last post, I thought I might address some green lawns and getting yards in shape for the spring or, of course, getting ready to sell. I was looking at my own lawn and I have a lovely bare patch that looks like aliens landed and burned a whole in my yard with their space ship. Actually, someone left a wading pool filled with water too long in one spot, the sun got hot, and you can guess the rest of the story but aliens sound ever so much more fun!

Anyway, I have been staring at my personal bare spot (along with several places that my Jack Russells have been using as their potty all winter long) and contemplating some repairs. I took matters into my own hands with a rake and a bag of Wal-Mart grass seed but I may have gone about this all wrong. Today, lo and behold, I find this great website called American Lawns, http://www.american-lawns.com/problems/repair.html. This website has great tips for fixing not only my problem but lots of lawn problems.

Now if I can only find a great tip for pulling weeds!

Green Homes

One of my personal interests has long been ways to reduce my impact on the environment. I grew up in a home with a mother who was an avid environmentalist long before it became cool to be one. As a Realtor, I'm particularly interested in green homes and just found this great link that you may want to visit if it's something that interests you as well:

http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20070405_greenpaymore.htm

When you get to that site, there are other links to more Green Home information too.